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Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Asus Transformer Mini Review

A couple of
years ago, I purchased an Acer W8 Windows tablet and it was a great purchase at
the time. Then it was started to slow down and show it’s age. The 8-inch screen
was also starting to feel small. That, or my eyesight must be starting to
deteriorate. So I decided to get a new tablet. This time, I chose the Asus
Transformer Mini. I was originally thinking of getting the Microsoft Surface 3
but alas, Microsoft decided to discontinue it. With the urgent need of a
replacement that would suit my failing eyesight, I decided to get the Mini. Now
let’s see if it was a wise decision.

Specs

10.1 “ 1280x800
screen

Intel Atom
X5 Z8350 1.44 Ghz processor

4GB RAM and 128GB
eMMC storage with Micro SD expansion

1 USB, 1
Micro USB and 1 micro HDMI

Fingerprint
Sensor

Front 2MP
camera

Weight 800g

Comes with detachable
Keyboard and Stylus

11 Hrs
battery life

Model T102HA

US$ 399 on
Amazon

Design and usability

First of all,
let’s lay it all out there. The design of the Mini is exactly like the
Microsoft Surface, except smaller. Everything from the kickstand to the
keyboard cover is the same. Of course, the Surface is more expensive so Asus
had to cut cost by making it smaller and use a slower Atom processor. To be
fair, the all-metal build of the Mini feels very sturdy and gives it a more premium
look. Another place where Asus had to cut cost is in the screen. You only get
an HD and not a full HD screen. On the upside, they make up for it with the
quality. It is very bright and with good viewing angles and on a 10-inch screen,
it doesn’t really bother me all that much. One place where they do better is
that Asus includes the Keyboard and Stylus while Microsoft will charge you and
arm and a leg for those.

The Mini is
very light and I was actually quite surprised when I picked it up for the first
time. Using it with one hand for extended periods is no effort at all. I also
do like that they included a full USB and a micro HDMI port. The micro USB port
is also great which means I can just use a standard phone charger so I don’t
have to carry an extra one.

Performance

Like I
mentioned, Asus had to cut some corners and one of those was using a low power
Atom X5 processor. I wish they had used an M3 or even an X7 but I’m sure the
people who will buy this aren’t power users anyway. I’ve been using this for a
week now and so far, no hiccups. Browsing, watching movies, YouTube and MS Word
were no problems at all. The 4GB of RAM helps a lot with multitasking but I’m
quite sure that playing demanding games will be almost impossible on this
machine.

I have to
mention that the keyboard is quite small so I don’t think you’ll be writing your
next best selling novel on this thing. I am however able to write this review
with no problems. Another bonus is that the included stylus is quite good for
drawing with only the only drawback is that it needs a hard-to-find “AAAA” battery.
Lastly, the included fingerprint sensor is very responsive and useful. Unfortunately,
it came at the expense of a rear-facing camera which would have been very
useful for taking photos of documents and such.

Verdict

I have to
say that I took a leap of faith when I got this. Since this was a newly
released product, I was never able to see it and there weren’t that many
reviews online at that time. Several
things surprised me with the Asus Transformer Mini. It’s lightweight, the
screen is very bright, the fingerprint sensor works instantly and lastly, the
battery life is very good. Knowing the
limitations of the Mini this could be very useful for a student or for someone
that needs a light travel sized 2-in-1 laptop/tablet. If you need more power I
would suggest getting the Transformer 3 or Pro or even the Surface 4 Pro. You
also get a free copy of Microsoft Office which is a great bonus on this little
versatile machine.

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Read before you buy! Gadget reviews and Tech News.
I am a self-confessed gadget addict. I need to write about this addiction as my therapy. Currently a commercial pilot and former engineer at IBM. Hope you find the reviews useful.